Council of the Fallen - _Revealing Damnation_(Martyr, 2002)by: Aaron McKay (8.5 out of 10)

Like heat-priming a chimney before lighting a fire, Council of the Fallen are set to blaze nearly uncontrolled. This well-balanced three piece have hardened their sound through experience. Derek Ruddy (Hate Eternal), Sean Baxter (Broken Hope / Em Sinfonia) and Kevin Quirion flare with magnificence on _Revealing Damnation_. As a matter of fact, Ruddy has issued a newly released 45 minute instructional drumming video as of late. No half-baked, half-assed metal here! CotF is purely scorching metal. In this three piece, a listener will soon come to appreciate the duality of the band's vocal assault. Occasional and lightly used wisps of shadowed murmurs and whispers on some tracks add a welcome hint of black metal to this firebrand outfit. "Demon Winds" and "Secrets No Longer" showcase this band in the best of lights magnifying Sean, Derek and Kevin Quirion's ability and consuming passion to rip through some largely imaginative material. Believe me -- it smokes. "Cast from the Heavens" has an undeniable Epoch of Unlight undertone, where as the majority of the rest of _Revealing Damnation_ incorporates a cross-section of styles from technical to black to death. Playing up more of CotF's vocal style and interplay while mixing in at least the same amount of texture, like at the 1:30 mark on "Unveiling the Pain", would be most certainly a plus, adding to the band's already smoldering complexity. Making it on the metal scene, as we all know, takes an impassioned desire to succeed. All I can say for sure is, Council of the Fallen has the necessary the collective fire in the belly to engulf the metal community. I can't wait for the next offering.